Concrete block for watering-tanks.



c B. INGRAHAM. V, GONGRETE'BLOGK FOR WATERING TANKS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, 19091 Patentd Aug. 22, 1911.

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CHARLES B. INGRAHAM, OF LAUREL,IOWA7 ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 IVAN H. HOLDEN, OF LAUREL, IOWA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

Application filed June 10, 1909. Serial No. 501,406.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. INGRA- HAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Laurel, in the county of -Marshall and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Concrete Block for Watering- Tanks, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a concrete block of simple and inexpensive construction, that may be readily and easily made in molds that can be produced easily and at slight expense, said blocks being so shaped that a number of them may be placed side by side on a suitable base to form the sides of a concrete water tank or the like, and after being so placed, they may be firmly held together and all of the joints between the blocks may be readily and easily sealed by means of concrete placed in the spaces between the blocks to thereby form a concrete water tank that will be strong and durable, and that may be made without the use of any molds for forming the complete tank.

A further object is to provide improved means for connecting the ends by reinforcing rods of the kind used in devices of this class.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a sectional, perspective view of a number of concrete blocks embodying my invention arranged to form part of a circular water tank. Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a concrete block embodying my invention, and Fig. 3 shows an enlarged, detail view illustrating the means for connecting the ends of the reinforcing rods.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate a concrete base for a water tank. The concrete blocks are made of such shape that molds for forming them can be readily and easily made at slight expense. Each block has a flat back side and the top and bottom are also flat and are arranged at right-angles to the block. The front is preferably tapered from a maximum thiclmess at its lower end to a minimum at its top, said front being also flat.

In each side of the block is a substantially V-shaped groove 11. The said sides are preferably grooved from the edges of the front and back to the center of the block, as shown in Fig. 2, and for the double purpose of providing a passage way for concrete to flow from one side of the block to the other and for receiving binding wires or rods, extended through the block, near the upper and lower ends thereof, from the central portion of one side to the other side, are two openings 12 and 13 for purposes hereinafter made clear. The block is also tapered from a maximum thickness at its rear to a minimum at its front. These blocks may be made of any desired length and by reason of the peculiar construction shown in the drawings, a number of them may be placed side by side in upright position, and if all of the fronts are arranged on the same side, as shown in Fig. 1, and the edges of the sides touch each other, then obviously, the blocks will stand in a true circle and a circular water tank will be formed thereby without the use of any molds or guide frames or the like for arranging the blocks.

Furthermore, if it is desired to construct a rectangular water tank or a straight wall, the blocks may be arranged with the front of one block and the back of the adjacent block arranged on the same side. In this way a number of blocks will obviously be arranged in a straight line.

After the blocks have been assembled, as shown in Fig. 1, the operator extends, through the openings 12 and 13 thereof, two reinforcing metal rods 14. Each of these rods is provided at one end with an eye 15, and the other end is screw-threaded at 16. Connected with the screw-threaded end is a turn buckle 17, and screwed into the other end of the turn buckle is a short hook 18 designed to enter the eye 15.

In use, I operate the device is follows: The rods are extended through the openings in the blocks as the blocks are placed in position on the base 10. Then after the last block is placed in position, the operator reaches down through the opening between the sides of the block and inserts the hooks 17 until the rods are drawn tightly together and all of the edges of the blocks are in firm contact, thus producing a true circular water tank. After this is completed, the operator pours into the openings formed by the V- shaped grooves in the sides of the blocks, a

suit-able material in wet condition, including q cement. This material will flow through all of the spaces between the blocks and will also flow through the openings 12 and 13 surrounding the rods 14, and it will securely seal all of the cracks between the various blocks. The said blocks, of themselves, form what might be termed a mold for receiving the said material, and after said material sets and hardens, the entire water tank is substantially the same as though made of one piece.

By having the front faces of the blocks inclined from the lower end to the upper end, a tank is formed in which the freezing of water will not tend to crack the tank as would'be the case if the sides thereof were vertical.

I claim as my invention.

1. A concrete block, having a fiat back portion, top and bottom portlons at right angles to the back, and also having a fiat front portion, said block being tapered from a maximum at the rear to a minimum at the front, and said sides being formed with substantially V-shaped grooves so arranged that when said blocks are arranged in an upright posit-ion with the fronts at the same side, they will form a circle, and when arranged alternately with the fronts and backs at the same side, they will form a straight line, said front being also inclined from the bottom upwardly and toward the back.

2. A wall composed of concrete blocks, each having flat top and bottom surfaces, said block being tapered from a maximum at the rear to a minimum at the front, and said sides being formed with substantially V-shaped grooves, the said blocks being arranged alternately with the fronts and backs at the same side, thus forming a straight wall, said blocks having openings 12 and 13 designed to receive binding devices and cement in a wetstate, binding rods passed through the openings 12 and 13, and devices for fastening said binding rods at the ends.

3. A tank composed of a concrete base, a circular wall constructed of cement blocks having fiat top and bottom surfaces, said blocks being tapered from a maximum in width at the rear to a minimum in width at the front, the sides of said blocks being formed with grooves extending from top to bottom, the said blocks being assembled side by side, the narrow widths being inward and thus forming. a circle, said blocks having alined openings designed to receive binding devices and cement in a wet state, and binding devices passed through the said openings.

Des Moines, Iowa, May 29, 1909.

CHARLES B. INGRAHAM.

Htnesses HERMAN G. F. WESSELS, IVAN H. HOLDEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Pat ents,

. Washington, D. '0. 

